Click HERE to download a printable PDF of this puzzle.
Puzzled? No more cross words! Read Kosman and Picciotto on “Solving The Nation’s Cryptic Puzzles.” Or watch this video.
ACROSS
1 At first, acute pressure to back up claims (7)
5 Like one receiving a pension or new wheels? (7)
9 En route, I smuggled in bell (5)
10 Enterprising stratagem after disposing of initial debts (9)
11 Like a bit of sapphire amid mere counterfeit jewelry (10)
12 Computer person losing head with love, love, love… (4)
14 Commercial break without purpose (6)
16 Nerd goes around globe with no better than average means of access (8)
18 Perfume dispenser talking at a cheapskate (8)
With a hostile incoming administration, a massive infrastructure of courts and judges waiting to turn “freedom of speech” into a nostalgic memory, and legacy newsrooms rapidly abandoning their responsibility to produce accurate, fact-based reporting, independent media has its work cut out for itself.
At The Nation, we’re steeling ourselves for an uphill battle as we fight to uphold truth, transparency, and intellectual freedom—and we can’t do it alone.
This month, every gift The Nation receives through December 31 will be doubled, up to $75,000. If we hit the full match, we start 2025 with $150,000 in the bank to fund political commentary and analysis, deep-diving reporting, incisive media criticism, and the team that makes it all possible.
As other news organizations muffle their dissent or soften their approach, The Nation remains dedicated to speaking truth to power, engaging in patriotic dissent, and empowering our readers to fight for justice and equality. As an independent publication, we’re not beholden to stakeholders, corporate investors, or government influence. Our allegiance is to facts and transparency, to honoring our abolitionist roots, to the principles of justice and equality—and to you, our readers.
In the weeks and months ahead, the work of free and independent journalists will matter more than ever before. People will need access to accurate reporting, critical analysis, and deepened understanding of the issues they care about, from climate change and immigration to reproductive justice and political authoritarianism.
By standing with The Nation now, you’re investing not just in independent journalism grounded in truth, but also in the possibilities that truth will create.
The possibility of a galvanized public. Of a more just society. Of meaningful change, and a more radical, liberated tomorrow.
In solidarity and in action,
The Editors, The Nation
19 Flat stone housing Kentucky research facility (6)
21 What you need to think without limits: money (4)
22 Written right to left in Avignon, the calfskin describes that object with many stories (10)
25 Sound arrangement of skeleton is outstanding (9)
26 Man takes in Eastern playwright (5)
27 Spooner’s optimal skin tone is the subject of a treaty (4,3)
28 Certain back muscles captivating alien (7)
DOWN
1 Keep reusing garment materials as a way to stay cool (5,10)
Get unlimited access: $9.50 for six months.
2 Legal actions of executives (5)
3 Urchin runs over to conceal error (10)
4 Second piece of furniture is not likely to fall (6)
5 Brooks and birds, running (8)
6 Bishop’s skirt (4)
7 Applaud Panama, say, for invasive operation (4,5)
8 Confused, having expanded outside small band at second-rate university (15)
13 Garden tool interfering with plant disease is a safety feature (5,5)
15 Hopper looks for oil and gas—they’re on top of the car (4,5)
17 Blue law inscribed in broken cane (8)
20 Feverish, except for the face (it is an ailment) (6)
23 Old-fashioned recording, like “Jungle Love” at the beginning (5)
24 Beat of young reporter including legislature’s opening (4)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3500
ACROSS 1 NOTIFICA[tio]N + HELPIT (anag.) 9 BE(DFE)LLOW (Fed anag.) 10 E + ULER (anag.) 11 rev. 12 SPIN + DO + CTOR (rev.) 14 “seen” 15 anag. 18 CHE(APE)ST 20 C + ADET (anag.) 23 REST + AURA + N[o]T 25 P + RIM 27 L(O)ADS 28 B(L)INDS + IDE[a] 29 letter bank
DOWN 1 NO + BE + LIST 2 anag. 3 “flu” 4 anag. 5 [k]NO-WIN[g] 6 “icon tacked” 7 2 defs. 8 TORE + RO (rev.) 13 ME(TATARS)AL 16 sound switch 17 anag. (&lit.) 19 H(USB)AND 21 DAR(L)ING 22 P + RELIM (rev., &lit.) 24 Barbi[e] anag. 26 “idol”
Joshua Kosman and Henri PicciottoJoshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto are The Nation’s puzzlers. To read more about Kosman, click here. To read more about Picciotto, click here. Kosman and Picciotto explain what they’re up to in “Solving The Nation’s Cryptic Crosswords” (also available as a PDF). Check out The Nation’s Current Issue page each week for the latest puzzle.